Outpost System — North-West Mounted Police

Imagine enforcing the law in an area covered by Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta - with only 300 policemen! This is what Commissioner French and his men tried to accomplish. To be successful, it required spreading the men thinly across this huge territory. It also required a reputation for fairness and compassion in order to make it work.

Once Fort Macleod was established, Assistant Commissioner Macleod's next responsibility was to spread the red cloak of the law over this vast landscape. He accomplished his goal by establishing several larger posts - Fort Walsh, Fort Saskatchewan, Fort Battleford and Fort Calgary - in strategic locations at fords and along major travel routes. From each of the larger posts radiated outposts, smaller posts usually consisting of a small barracks, a stable and a corral. Each outpost was manned by a handful of men.

In 1888, Commissioner Lawrence W. Herchmer established a network of mounted patrols to supplement the outposts. One or two policemen would travel for days at a time visiting settlers and patrolling trails and cart roads. They helped where they could, often delivered news, and in turn, picked up much useful information that was relayed to the headquarters in Regina. In 1888 alone, the patrols covered over one million miles.

Some of the outposts included Fort Kipp, Fort Pitt, Fort Qu'Appelle, Short Creek Camp, Woodend, Wood Mountain, East End, Head of the Mountain, Ten Mile, Writing on Stone, Pothole, Milk River Ridge, Big Bend, Lee's Creek, Kennedy's Crossing, Pinto Horse Butte, Batoche, Saskatchewan Landing, Victoria, Onion Lake, Bressalor, Red Deer, Wetaskiwin, and St. Albert.

Fort Kipp: This 13-man outpost about 40 kms east of Fort Macleod was initially under the command of Inspector Brisebois. Two policemen died tragically in the winter of 1874-75 when they became lost in a blizzard traveling between Fort Macleod and Fort Kipp.

Fort Pitt: Fort Pitt was another Hudson's Bay Company post used by the NWMP. It is best known for its involvement in the 1885 rebellion. Manned by Inspector Frances Dickens and a dozen men, the NWMP were routed and sent fleeing while the Hudson's Bay Company's employees and their families were taken hostage by Big Bear. Fort Pitt was burned to the ground, partially rebuilt in 1886, then closed in 1890.

Woodend: An outpost of Fort Walsh, Woodend was established in 1886 at the site of a Boundary Commission depot. It operated until 1897, at which time it was primarily a quarantine station for livestock moving into Canada from the United States.